Chapters 20 - 21 Summary

The Shah of Bratpuhr visits a barbershop to get his hair cut. Barbers are one of the few professions that haven't been mechanized, but they will be soon. Though the Shah doesn't understand English, the barber tells the Shah the story of a barber who was afraid someone would invent a barbering machine. The man kept thinking of things a barber did that no machine could do, and then at night, he would dream of how a machine could do that thing. This went on until the barber had designed a machine that could do everything a barber did. He sold his design for a small fortune, and now all barbers are being put out of work. The barber cutting the Shah's hair is old enough to retire.

Meanwhile, the Shah's guide, Dr. Ewing J. Halyard is brooding over a letter...